How tall is that tree?
Trees are hard to judge because there is nothing beside them. Drawn against a house and a person, the numbers settle down.
60% of a silver birch
12 m is taller than 3 of the 8 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| average man (US) | 1.75 m | 6.85× | |
| Christmas tree | 2 m | 6× | |
| apple tree | 4 m | 3× | |
| silver birch | 20 m | 0.6× | |
| English oak | 25 m | 0.48× | |
| Douglas fir | 60 m | 0.2× | |
| giant sequoia | 83.8 m | 0.143× | General Sherman |
| Hyperion | 116 m | 0.104× | The tallest known tree, a coast redwood |
Worth knowing
- Hyperion, a coast redwood in California, is 115.9 m. Its exact location is kept quiet because visitors were killing the undergrowth around it.
- About 130 m is thought to be the ceiling for any tree: above that, water cannot be pulled to the leaves against gravity and friction.
Frequently asked
How do you measure a tree without climbing it?
Walk back a measured distance, measure the angle to the top with a phone inclinometer, and multiply the distance by its tangent, then add your eye height. Accurate to a metre or so if the ground is level.
What is the tallest tree species?
The coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. The giant sequoia is more massive but shorter; the mountain ash of Tasmania comes closest at about 100 m.